DELICATE biological specimens that have been gathering dust in museums for decades could soon receive a spruce up. A laser-cleaning technique more commonly used to clean works of art has produced impressive results when applied to even the most fragile specimens.
Many of the items, such as butterfly wings and paper wasps’ nests, are so delicate they are impossible to clean using conventional techniques, says Lorraine Cornish, an expert in artefact conservation at the Natural History Museum in London. She has been testing a laser-cleaning device that is currently used on sculptures and paintings, on biological specimens such as ivory, bone and microscopic fossils …
